This turned out to be one of our favorite places on our 18-day trip of Sichuan. Huanglong completely blew us away with some of the most unique and spectacular scenery in China, or anywhere else for that matter.
Granted, our expectation of Huanglong was toned down when fellow travelers recommended visiting Huanglong earlier in our itinerary before the supposedly more impressive Jiuzhaigou. This was supposed to be Jiuzhaigou's little brother, and we honestly didn't expect such world class scenery.
It was a world of turquoise and white, a 4km long promenade of glacial water cascading down half-frozen waterfalls and opaque limestone pools. Combine this unearthly landscape with an elevation as high as Lhasa, Tibet, and we're in for a memorable hike.
We did visit Jiuzhaigou the next day, and Huanglong was no less breathtaking (pun intended) in our opinions. To put things into perspective, the hike was said to be 4 hours up and down; we spent about 4.5 on the downhill alone, deliberately slowing down for photos and for breath at this high altitude.
The photos below documented our visit of Huanglong National Park on November 15, for anyone planning to visit this alpine paradise this late in the year. Just two days later the only accessible road would be blocked due to heavy snowfall, and the National Park would soon officially close until next April.
We began our day from the medieval walled city of Songpan, the main transportation hub in Northern Sichuan. Buses to Huanglong were discontinued in the off-season, and we resorted to hiring our own private vehicle for Huanglong and the subsequent transfer to Jiuzhaigou in the late afternoon.
Of the 6 different drivers we hired over our 18-day trip, Ma Shifu was among the 2 drivers I would wholeheartedly recommend. A semi-nomadic yak herder in his former life, Ma Shifu came from a Hui Muslim clan in multi-ethnic Songpan and grew up having these mountains as his own backyard. On this day we would traverse the mountain saddle known as Xueshanliang, a typical alpine ridge adorn with Tibetan prayer flags and rock piles.
08:45. At 4000m above sea level we stopped for photos, a sea of clouds beneath our feet stretching as far as the eye could see. While the skies were clear at this altitude, Ma Shifu knew how quickly road conditions could change and warned ominously of a chance of snow. His prediction would come true in less than 48 hours as we would be delayed flying out of the local airport.
09:40. Ma Shifu dropped us off at Huanglong and promised to pick us up in the afternoon. We arrived on the last day of the ropeway's seasonal operation, taking advantage of the quick ascent and mitigating against overexertion at high altitudes. The entrance ticket would be cheaper by RMB 140 (CAD$25!!) the next day, but we would receive the same discount visiting Jiuzhaigou. I'd rather visit Huanglong while the ropeway was still in operation.
11:00. Our first peek of the Five-Coloured Pond came after 50 minutes on a well-maintained planked trail. According to timestamps on our photos we would spend a full hour here, yet it was hardly enough time to appreciate the 700 calcified pools of various hues from yellow to turquoise to emerald green.
The menacing presence of oxygen bags for rent along the trails was a sober reminder of the present danger of altitude sickness. This was precisely why we opted for the ropeway -- the highest pools were accessible via a 3km walk on level ground, instead of a taxing 4km climb at the treacherous elevation of 3600m.
Thin oxygen didn't prevent the construction of a series of shrines to venerate the Yellow Dragon that allegedly transformed into these sparkling pools and waterfalls. Appearing on most postcards is the so-called Huanglong Ancient Temple which, despite its serenity most of the year, would host a boisterous fair attracting thousands of Tibetans, Hui Muslims and Han Chinese alike every summer from hundreds of miles away.
11:50. We stopped for a snack break in front the Rear Temple. The open square would be perfect for Tibetan Circle Dances during the temple fair, which is held at midsummer rather than during Chinese New Year as is the custom in most of the country. There is simply no road access to this remote corner of the Tibetan Plateau in February.
12:20. We took a glimpse of the Middle Temple and its collection of statues passed down from the Ming Dynasty. Curiously the temples seemed partially Taoist (hence the legend of the Yellow Dragon) and partially Buddhist (hence the Hall of Arhats), which added to the intrigue on this line of religious divide between Tibetan Buddhists from the southwest and Hui Muslims from the north.
12:40. The spread of calcified pools narrowed as we approached the Flamboyant Pond. Only a handful of locations in the world can boast travertine pools of this massive scale, and Huanglong is arguably most obscure compared with Yellowstone and Pamukkale.
12:50. At Azalea Pond we approached the halfway point of our descent. Having spent a week elsewhere on the Tibetan Plateau, and perhaps aided by the Tibetan Rhodiola that we had been taking as herbal supplements, we fortunately did not feel any symptoms of altitude sickness.
13:00. Arrival at Mirror Pond, which wasn't so mirror-like on this frosty day.
13:10. On the way to Bonsai Pond we passed several Tibetan villagers selling various incenses and snacks. Our lunch on this day consisted mainly of the yak meat jerky we purchased at Mount Siguniang, and we would have no proper meal before arriving at Jiuzhaigou that evening.
One reward for visiting in this frigid season was the view of these lovely frozen ponds throughout the length of the creek. Sadly we were likely among the last groups of visitors to enjoy this rare sight, as we would hear of the National Park's seasonal closure from a taxi driver just two days later.
13:30. Leading towards the bottom section of the creek was a giant cascade of glacial water down a gentle slope known as Seven Miles of Golden Sand. Late arriving visitors could still be seen puffing and climbing in the direction of the Five-Coloured Pond, 3.5 hours from gate closing.
13:40. Arrival at the pale blue Lianyan Pond, now three quarters of the way down from the top.
The temperature was below freezing even under the warm afternoon sunshine, and for the first time we had to utilize every layer of clothing available in our backpacks. But it was all worthwhile arriving in the most beautiful time of the year, when half the ponds had frozen into a magical translucency while the other half remained brilliantly crystal blue.
14:00. An array of half-frozen waterfalls guided our descent on the last stretch of the hike. In a momentary lapse of judgment I followed behind several Chinese visitors and treaded across a thin sheet of ice to access a frozen waterfall, which was incredibly risky in retrospect as everyone could have collapsed into the freezing pond.
14:10. At last we reached the Welcome Pond at the bottom of the valley, nearly 4.5 hours after setting out from the cable car station. The downhill route was probably doable in 2 hours without stopping, though 4 would be realistic IMHO with spectacular scenery almost every step of the way.
Ma Shifu was already expecting us near the entrance, eager to bring us back across the 4000m mountain pass while the ever-changing weather was still cooperative. The sea of clouds from the morning had largely dissipated for now, only to return within the next 24 hours to blanket the plateau with more snow.
On our way back Ma Shifu shared fascinating stories of yak herding in his younger days, of highway banditry in this isolated corner of 21st Century China, and of the power of (surprisingly!) matriarchal clans among his tribe of Hui Muslims. You could tell the straightforwardness and honesty of this man from his sense of responsibility in his work, and I would have no problem recommending him to fellow travelers who are able to communicate with him in Chinese.
We bid farewell to Ma Shifu at a teahouse north of Chuanzhusi, where he handed us off to a Jiuzhaigou-based driver to take us to our destination. Our private vehicle from Songpan to Huanglong to Chuanzhusi to Jiuzhaigou cost a total of RMB 500 including waiting time, which I found quite reasonable for 180 km of winding mountain roads. The next day we would take on the longest hike of our trip, at the world famous valley of Jiuzhaigou.
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